| “ | If nothing else works, a total, pig-headed unwillingness to look facts in the face will see us through! | „ |
| ~ General Melchett's philosophy. |
General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmany Melchett, or better known as General Melchett, is the main antagonist of the 1989 TV series Blackadder Goes Forth. He is a British Army General serving in the First World War, and the commanding officer of the series protagonist, Captain Blackadder and the rest of his unit.
He was portrayed by Stephen Fry, who also played Arthur Wellesley in Blackadder the Third, the Master of Laketown in Peter Jackson's Hobbit trilogy, Reaver in the Fable video game series, Malvolio in Twelfth Night, and Lord Piggot-Dunceby in Missing Link.
Biography[]
General Melchett was a descendant of Lord Melchett, an advisor of Queen Elizabeth I. Melchett evidently had a long and distinguished military career, as he made a reference to fighting in Sudan in the final episode. During World War I, General Melchett was a commanding officer of the British army who were fighting the Germans. The men under Melchett's command included Captain Edmund Blackadder, Captain Kevin Darling, Lieutenant George (whom Melchett had known since he was a child) and Private Baldrick.
While Blackadder, George and Baldrick were stuck in the trenches facing constant danger, Melchett and his right-hand man, Captain Darling, were safe in their chateau far away from the shot and shell. This is probably one reason Melchett did not understand the dire suffering brought on by the war, though it is made frequently clear that he is also extremely unintelligent, perhaps even psychotic. Although Melchett showed great respect for distinguished servicemen like Captain Blackadder, he has no qualms about sending Blackadder or any of the other men under his service to their deaths via dangerous situations, nor of how wasteful or costly his tactics actually are.
As the main antagonist, Melchett appeared in every episode of Blackadder Goes Forth. Although he was generally shown to be kind and respectful towards his fellow Englishmen and was clearly just trying to do his best to win the war, most of Blackadders misadventures could trace their origins back to him. It was also shown that when provoked Melchett could not only be unreasonable and uncompromising but also physically violent towards others including those under his command.
Episode 1[]
In the first episode 'Captain Cook', Melchett takes advantage of Blackadder (really George's) talent for painting by getting Blackadder and his men to go into no-mans land in order to draw a map showing the positions of the enemies position, or as Blackadder put it "sit in no-mans land painting pictures of the Germans". To trick Melchett, Blackadder persuades George to give their commanding officer fictional sketches of armament factories and elephants. Not deterred, Melchett still orders his men over the top, causing Blackadder to question his sanity. Blackadder, Baldrick and George never-the-less manage to avoid death by posing as Italian chefs and substituting the role of Melchett's chef in order to poison both Melchett and Darling.
Episode 2[]
'Corporal Punishment' is one of the episodes which clearly demonstrates Melchett is an antagonist. In the episode, Melchett once again orders his men over the top and through Captain Darling sends no fewer than three messages, via telephone, telegram and his own personal carrier pigeon 'Speckled Jim'. The later of these prove to be Blackadder's downfall, however, as he decides to shoot the pigeon and eat the evidence for lunch, as shooting carrier pigeons have become a court-martial offence.
Upon arriving at the trench to enquire why the men haven't advanced into No Man's Land, Melchett and Darling soon discover Blackadder's crime. As Speckled Jim was his pet, Melchett is more angered at this than Blackadder's refusal to obey orders and tries to bludgeon Blackadder himself, but is physically restrained by Captain Darling, who insists they should do things by the book. Blackadder is immediately arrested and tried for his offences. Though he seems confident at first, thinking any reasonable judge is bound to let him off, once Blackadder learns that Melchett is the presiding judge it is as Kevin Darling puts it "an open and shut case", and Blackadder immediately notes, "I'm dead!" upon hearing Melchett's "Bah!", signalling that Melchett himself is the judge. At the opening of the trial, Melchett tells his fellow judges that the matter will be resolved very quickly. He addresses Blackadder as "the Flanders Pigeon Murderer", makes a deliberate note of asking for the black cap, and proceeds to fine George (Blackadder's defence counsel) £50 just for turning up (which would be between £6000 - £8000 as of 2017). Melchett is even called forward as a witness for the prosecution. As such "The Flanders Pigeon Murderer" as Melchett calls him is quickly found guilty and sentenced to death by firing squad.
Blackadder is only saved at the last second by George's uncle Rupert, who is the Minister of War and therefore has the power/authority to override Melchett's command.
Episodes 3 - 5[]
Melchett plays a relatively minor role in 'Major Star', 'Private Plane' and 'General Hospital' and as such is shown to be less villainous. Indeed, he requires Blackadders assistance in two of these (Major Star and General Hospital) and even encouraged him to join the Royal Flying Corp in Private Plane. Never the less, Melchett still refuses to help Blackadder when he is trapped behind enemy lines, (also revealing he deliberately killed Georges pet rabbit Flossy, and turned him into rabbit pie) and always sends Blackadder and his friends back to the trenches as soon as they are finished. He also seriously wounds Darling by shooting him in the foot so he can infiltrate the military hospital.
Final episode[]
Perhaps Melchett's most villainous role (other than Corporal Punishment) was in the series final episode 'Goodbyeeee'. Melchett yet again ordered another advance but visited the trenches personally after being informed by George that Blackadder had gone insane. In truth though, Blackadder was only pretending and had simply put his underpants on his head, stuck two pencils up his nose, and was frequently saying "Wibble".
Upon arriving at the front Melchett informed George that a whole platoon in Sudan tried a similar trick, and Melchett had them all shot for it. Blackadder, of course, hears all of this and is quickly 'cured'. Following this brief visit and discussion with his subordinates in which Melchett verbally insulted Darling, praised George and Blackadder, and punched Baldrick in the face, the General bade Blackadder, George and Baldrick good luck and left them behind, unaware that it was the last time he would see any of them alive.
Later that evening Melchett had a heart to heart moment with Captain Darling, telling the younger man that he was grateful for Darlings years of service and that he had come to view him as his son (though of course, Melchett stated that he meant more of an illegitimate, hated character and not a favourite son). As such Melchett had come to think he was holding Darling back and arranged what he believed to be a little treat for Darling. Initially handing him the wrong form, Melchett smiled cheerfully when Darling discovered that this gift was in-fact a commission for the front line. A horrified Darling pleaded for the General to reconsider, but Melchett misinterpreted this desperation as enthusiasm coupled with a desire not to leave Melchett and did not listen to him. In the end, Darlings pleas fell on deaf ears and, dismissed from Melchett's immediate service, he was sent to the front line, with Melchett never realizing that he had just condemned his loyal aide to death.
Melchett called Blackadder one final time to inform him of Darlings arrival, just before the four of them went over the top. The fate of the men is never revealed but if the final scene is anything to go by Melchett never saw them again. As such, he was the only guaranteed surviving member of the main cast at the end of Blackadder Goes Forth.
Whilst he appears to have left a descendant in the form of Archbishop Flavius Melchett, the ultimate fate of General Sir Anthony Cecil Hogmany Melchett has never been revealed.
Personality[]
In contrast to his Elizabethan ancestor, General Melchett is a loud, childish, unintelligent, incompetent, pompous warmonger. He is often abusive to his assistant Captain Darling and has even tried to have Captain Blackadder shot by firing squad in an unfair court martial. Although Melchett shows kindness towards fellow Cambridge graduate Lt. George, he had previously killed George's pet rabbit 'Flossy' when George was a child, on his sixth birthday no less and subsequently had the beloved pet turned into rabbit pie.
Melchett is able to admire distinguished servicemen such as Captain Blackadder. He never once realised that his poor military decisions were condemning hundreds if not thousands of men to death on a daily basis, and as such he had no problem ordering Blackadder, his companions and eventually even Darling to climb over the trenches to their deaths. He also had no problems hitting the men when they went too far, as he did to Baldrick on two occasions.
Melchett appears to be insane, as in Private Plane when Blackadder tried to get time off to 'recuperate' from his experience in a German prison, Melchett said that Blackadder's commanding officer would have to be mad to refuse him. Melchett, of course, is that commanding officer, and when asked by Blackadder immediately refuses him.
Trivia[]
- When discussing the character in Blackadder's Most Cunning Moments, Stephen Fry who played Melchett described the First World War as 'a moment of madness in human history, one that no one would ever want to repeat' and that Melchett 'represents the absolute insanity of the war'. He also revealed that the reason Melchett grunts or makes a noise every time he sat down was because he believed Melchett had haemorrhoids with the "Baaa!" also being done to get a laugh out of Rowan Atkinson (Captain Blackadder).
- Out of all the characters Melchett appears to have the best relationship with George. Both men are Cambridge graduates and have clearly known each other for a long time. A subtle hint at this is in General Hospital. In real life, George would have been executed for relaying confidential information about the armies strategy to the enemy. Although never confirmed it is possible that Melchett pulled some strings to have George spared, something he would never have done for Blackadder or Baldrick.
- Although Melchett's ultimate fate remains a mystery, a deleted scene revealed that Blackadder managed to survive the big push by pretending to be dead before going back to the trench for safety, thus ensuring his bloodline would continue.
- Like their characters, Stephen Fry and Hugh Laurie (George) are both graduates from Cambridge University and the two men are not only friends but have worked together, forming the comedy team of "Fry and Laurie". On the other hand, Rowan Atkinson (Blackadder), and writer Richard Curtis graduated from Oxford University. There is a famous joke about this in 'General Hospital'. When Blackadder is interrogating Nurse Mary, the supposed German spy, he notes that when he questioned her about higher education she failed to spot that only two of the universities he mentioned are great universities, Oxford, Cambridge and Hull. Melchett promptly replied, "That's right, Oxford's a complete dump", much to Blackadder's confusion. A popular fan theory is that this line was not scripted, and was in fact ad-libbed by Fry, which would mean Atkinson's reaction to this statement was also genuine.
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 Villains
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